Phil Giunta is one of the most prolific, eclectic authors I know—he accepts and conquers any writing challenge thrown his way. Phil is the award-winning author of the paranormal mystery novels Testing the Prisoner, By Your Side, and Like Mother, Like Daughters, and his short stories have been published in many anthologies and magazines, in various genres. He was also the creator and editor of the Middle of Eternity speculative fiction anthology series for Firebringer Press and self-publishes under his imprint, Raging Seas Press.
I first met Phil at the release party for the anthology, Beach Nights—we both had stories in the book—held at Browseabout Books at Rehoboth Beach. We also shared space in the follow-up anthology, Beach Pulp, and in the Scary Stories anthology published by Oddity Prodigy Productions. I published his story, "Bottom of the Hour," in the Smart Rhino anthology, A Plague of Shadows. Phil and I have similar writing styles and experiences, and I thought an interview with him would be helpful for the readers of this blog. Enjoy!
Thanks for agreeing to talk with us, Phil. Let's start with an easy one. You often write short stories for magazines and anthologies. Your story, "Where Halloween Never Ends," was recently published by Black Cat Weekly. Why do you find writing short stories so rewarding?
Short stories teach you how to be concise, to write lean and clean. This is especially important when dealing with word limits imposed by a publisher. Also, short stories allow me to delve into various genres in much less time than writing novels and novellas.
No offense to any writer to works within one genre. If they find success with that, more power to them. For me, stretching outside my comfort zone whenever I can, regardless of whether I succeed or fail, is where I find edification and joy as a writer.
You frequently attend writers' conventions and events. How do you think networking and collaborating with other writers inspires you and helps you improve your work?
Writing happens in isolation, but learning shouldn't. You can stay home and read blogs about writing and books about various aspects of the craft, but much can also be gleaned by becoming involved in your local writing community.
I've been a member of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group (GLVWG) for 12 years, and it was the best decision I ever made. We organize an annual writers conference called the Write Stuff. The keynote speakers are bestselling authors, and our presenters include longtime authors, agents, and editors from all areas of writing and publishing.
Further, GLVWG hosts a weekly critique group called the Writers Café every Wednesday evening from 7 PM to 9 PM over Zoom. Writers are given about ten minutes to read a 700-word excerpt of their work while screensharing the manuscript. Afterward, they receive instant feedback from others in the group.
GLVWG also publishes a themed anthology every odd year and our members can submit short stories, essays, poetry, and flash fiction. This is a wonderful opportunity for writers of all levels to submit their work, receive feedback from peers, and hone their craft. I'm proud to be the project manager for our 2027 anthology, Write from the Heart.
Many genre conventions include literary tracks where authors participate in discussion panels about various aspects of writing and publishing. Regardless of whether I'm a panelist or an audience member, there's always a chance I'll learn something valuable.
You're a big fan of Harlan Ellison. Why, and how has his work influenced yours?
The first Ellison collection I read in high school was Shatterday, which was also the title of one of the best stories in the book. A man's doppelgänger appears out of nowhere and takes over his life, becoming a more compassionate and selfless human being than the original, who eventually fades away. "Shatterday" became the first episode of the 1985 Twilight Zone reboot and starred Bruce Willis in the lead role.
Also included in Shatterday is the Hugo and Nebula award-winning "Jeffty is Five," a story about a boy who never grows up. As the years pass, he listens to new episodes of old radio programs that went off the air decades before and reads new issues of pulp magazines long out of print. The situation upsets his parents, of course, and the ending is shocking (in more ways than one). Other classics from Shatterday include "All the Lies That Are My Life," "The Man Who Was Heavily into Revenge," and more. I was hooked on Ellison from that point on.
While in high school, I also discovered Ray Bradbury, Philip Jose Farmer, Theodore Sturgeon, Lester del Rey, Murray Leinster, Robert Silverberg, Ursula K. Le Guin, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, and others who had written in, or just after, the pulps.
These authors have been categorized as science fiction writers (especially Silverberg, Asimov, Clarke, and Heinlein) even though all of them have used short stories to explore a wider range of genres and themes. That's how I've pursued my craft over the years. Although my three novels are paranormal mysteries, my short stories span SF, fantasy, paranormal, space opera, detective, and even a few inspirational pieces. I just finished my first sword and sorcery story for an anthology, and I had a blast writing it. I enjoy expanding into new territories with my writing, which brings us to the next question.
You're now self-publishing your books. What are the pros and cons you've experienced? What are the challenges?
By the time the original publisher of my paranormal mystery novels closed, I'd learned enough about the mechanics of self-publishing and print-on-demand that I could handle it myself. So, I reissued my first two novels, Testing the Prisoner and By Your Side, in 2023 and 2024, respectively. I gave both books an extensive re-edit and a facelift with new covers. The one additional step I took, that the original publisher did not, was to submit the books to various awards. This resulted in eight awards for Testing the Prisoner and four for By Your Side. That was certainly a "pro" for marketing!
The best aspect of self-publishing is that you're in control of everything, the stressful part of self-publishing is that you're in control of everything. When life gets in the way—as it did in 2024 when my mother died three weeks before the second edition of By Your Side was to launch—you realize that doing it all on your own can be a strain. I had promotional posts ready to go on my blog and social media leading up to the launch and despite the stress of dealing with funeral arrangements and handling my mother's estate, I somehow kept the promotion machine churning only to end up canceling the launch when the perfect storm became too much to manage.
You have a rather demanding day job. How do you find the time and drive for your writing?
I typically end my work day on time more or less. However, being an IT geek sometimes means performing after-hours systems maintenance. For example, I work one Saturday or Sunday per month to apply Windows patches to about 100 servers. In a few days, I'll be meeting with a vendor to perform a major hardware upgrade scheduled from 5 PM to 11 PM. Such occurrences are rare, but they happen.
If I have no chores, errands, doctors' appointments, or Zoom meetings with writers groups after work, then I can carve out an hour or so to write in the evenings. Same with weekends. As I answer these questions, in fact, I have a rare four hours on a Saturday afternoon to myself before my wife and I head out for the evening. So once I finish this interview, it's back to work on the novella!
What advice would you offer "newbie" fiction writers?
Read books in and out of your favorite genres. Read nonfiction as well as fiction and do so with a critical eye. Note how writers structure scenes, how they convey information to the reader (at once or as needed throughout the narrative), of how the best authors put dialogue to work with no wasted words, of how they describe a setting.
Find a writers group in your local community and ask if they offer critique help, but don't let anyone dictate how your story should be told. Feedback can be valuable, but it's your story. Provide critiques to other writers. You might just learn something in the process.
Attend writers conferences when you can afford to do so. Read writing blogs. That will cost you nothing but time. Consider Writer Unboxed, the Kill Zone, Career Authors, and Mythcreants. There are plenty more out there.
Over time and with experience, you'll develop sharper judgement about your own work. You'll become better at self-editing once you finish that first draft. You'll also be able to discern what feedback will help your story and what to disregard.
If the thought of writing a novel intimidates you right now, try writing a short story.
Do NOT compare yourself to others. There is no value in that. Do NOT fear failure or rejection. Both are part of the writing life and shouldn't discourage you.
Read your work aloud before submitting. Your tongue will trip over problems in your prose that your eyes might miss when reading silently.
As for outlining in advance ("plotting") or writing by the seat of your pants ("pantsing"), try both and see what works for you. I like to outline before I write, but the writing process is organic. I'm often struck with better ideas while I'm in the story's flow than what was in my outline. If so, I run with it to see where it takes me. I usually find that my characters know best.
What's your next project?
I've compiled 27 of my published short stories in a collection called Dreams from the Edge of Reality. I plan to launch it in July at Shore Leave 46 in Lancaster, PA.
A few weeks ago, I recently resurrected a paranormal mystery novella that I started in 2022 but set aside for other projects. It's a sequel to my 2018 novella Like Mother, Like Daughters. Reading it again with fresh eyes, I found ways to tighten the plot and the character relationships. I plan to combine the original novella and the sequel together in one book to be published late next year.
Thanks, Phil! You've always got great advice to share.
For more about Phil Giunta and his work, check out his website at https://www.philgiunta.com/
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